Staten Island Chuck set for Groundhog Day rematch with Bloomberg

Advance file photoStaten Island Chuck, officially known as Charles G. Hogg VII, chomps on a peanut. He will make his prediction on the end of winter Tuesday.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It's that time of the year again.. when New York's most famous furry prognosticator, Staten Island Chuck, makes his Groundhog Day prediction if we're in for more winter or an early spring.

The other key storyline is the reunion between Chuck and Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- the groundhog took a bite out of his hand last year. In their now infamous 2009 encounter, the mayor tried, unsuccessfully, to coax Chuck out of his cottage with some corn, but when Bloomberg reached in, the groundhog nipped at hizzoner's finger.

If you want to take your little ones to witness Tuesday's prediction -- and see if Chuck and the mayor can move on from last year's incident -- the gates of the Staten Island Zoo in West Brighton open at 6:45 a.m. The ceremony begins at 7:10 a.m.

Groundhog Day stems from the ancient belief that hibernating
creatures were able to predict the arrival of springtime by their
emergence. The German immigrants known as the Pennsylvania Dutch brought
the tradition to the United States in the 18th century.